German hotel reveals how tech platform enables it to operate with 80% fewer staff

Team of six continues to manage hotel

A 168-room hotel has revealed how it manages to operate with an ultra-lean team of staff thanks to its use of a tech platform it launched with last year.

The Zipper Hotel & Apartments, in Düsseldorf, opened its doors in November 2023 with only six members of staff to run it.

The property puts this down to its to employee and guest experience tool Like Magic as to how it's only ever needed this many members of staff, which is 80% smaller than that traditionally required for a hotel of its size, and yet operates at the same level of efficiency. 

The platform enables staff to perform 80% of their daily tasks from one single system. It also allows guests to carry out a range of actions without staff assistance.

These range from checking in, ordering food, requesting additional linen or pillows, and creating keyless room passes – requiring only a smartphone. 

Otto Konstantin Lindner, co-founder and managing director at The Zipper Hotel & Apartments, said: “We simply wouldn’t have been able to achieve what we have at The Zipper without Like Magic. 

“With Like Magic, we’ve been able to build a small, lean but highly effective team that is genuinely as passionate about what we are doing as my co-founder and I are.

"It’s also just given us all such a huge amount of headspace, and so it’s enabled us to focus on what really matters to our guests.”

The platform also enabled The Zipper to rapidly onboard staff, with every team member fully trained up in just a day and a half. And despite the ultra-lean team, the hotel has generated extensive positive feedback from guests, with Google ranking it 4.6 out of 5 and Booking.com ranking it 8.8.

Like Magic’s platform brings a booking engine, guest platform, employee interface and monitoring tools all into one place, creating a centre of operations for hotel management. 

Markus Feller, CEO of Like Magic, comments: “The Zipper Hotel & Apartments offers a real glimpse into the future of how hotels operate. Soon, cutting-edge platforms such as Like Magic will have all but solved the staffing crisis in the sector through far-reaching automation of tasks that previously only humans could do. 

"However, it’s important to point out that this is just the beginning. Once Like Magic realises the full potential of AI, we’re going to see the automation of hotel operations reach another level. The hospitality sector shouldn’t be reluctant about embracing such tech, it should lean in. 

"Embracing these tools is key to elevating our game, not just making operations smoother, but also enriching the guest experience and setting new benchmarks in service quality.

“The Zipper’s success story is one in which we can see firsthand how tech is poised to transform every aspect of the hospitality sector, from the staff we onboard to the experiences we ultimately deliver.”